August again!
It’s that time
of the year again when our account work
becomes extraordinarily quiet and this
year is certainly no exception. However,
as we all know, it’s the same every
August even though each August seems to
be even quieter than the previous one -
well it always appears that way.
Business is certainly very quiet on the account side, but we must
remember that we are not the only ones
noticing the difference. Everyone, no
matter what business they are in,
notices a downturn in August - the
holiday season – so we are not alone.
Of course the ‘credit crunch’ has exacerbated the situation,
especially with many of the financial
institutions making redundancies, which
in turn means they have less staff to
ride in our vehicles.
As most of you are probably aware, DaC’s financial year finishes -
or by the time you read this finished -
on 31 August. We would have had a fairly
good year, in fact exceptional in
comparison with our competitors, but I
must say with all the ‘doom and gloom’
around and the media talking the economy
down, I have noticed a downturn in our
figures from May this year. At present,
it is not any worse than we experienced
in 2002/3 and we came through that
unscathed and then experienced a couple
of years of unprecedented growth, so
perhaps things are not quite as bad as
the pundits would have us believe –
let’s hope not.
Parliament account comes back to DaC
On a more
optimistic note, I am very pleased to
inform you that we have won back the
House of Commons and Lords. Their
accounts have been opened, but as you
probably know they are in recess until
October. New rates have been
negotiated with the |
‘House’ and I know you
will be delighted with what has been
achieved on your behalf regarding
revised pricing. So it goes without
saying that you should do your utmost to
supply the client with the type of
service they require and which we are
renowned for!
TfL board
It has just
been announced that a representative
from the Licensed Taxi Industry will be
given a place on the board of TfL. This
is a long overdue appointment and an
issue that I had previously raised with
former Mayor, Ken Livingstone, only to
be promised ‘jam tomorrow’!
However, it would appear that our new Mayor, Boris Johnson, has
decided to listen to the trade and
appoint one of our own to the TfL board.
Bob Oddy, General Secretary of the LTDA,
will represent us and I am sure he will
do a very good job. Consequently, I
would like to congratulate Bob on his
appointment and will look forward to
reading his articles in Taxi
regarding the progress that is being
made by the TfL board.
100-year-old
passenger…You
will read elsewhere in the magazine
about a visit that was made to
Dial-a-Cab House by a Westminster
account resident who was celebrating her
100th birthday. She was quite an amazing
lady with all her faculties completely
intact!
It would appear she was in the entertainment business and I do
believe her Godfather was Fred Astaire!
She certainly kept us all |
entertained with her
stories, all of which were very amusing.
So how did this all come about? Wayne Garrett, one of our members,
started to pick-up Mrs Pattison on a
fairly regular basis and it was he that
brought this situation to our attention
– what with the telegram from the Queen
etc. I must say I did enjoy the time
that Eileen Pattison was in the
building. But more than anything I felt
a sense of pride towards Wayne, who has
built up quite a rapport with our
client. Not only did Wayne transport her
to our building and refuse to accept any
payment, but he also gave up best part
of an afternoon’s work to stay at the
building and take Mrs Pattison home
afterwards.
This type of kindness and understanding all too often goes
unrecognised, so to Wayne Garrett
(D64), well done! Your kindness is
greatly appreciated by me, all at
Dial-a-Cab House and no doubt by the
remainder of the membership.
Doreen Freeborn
Finally, I
would like pass on my sincere
condolences to one of our members,
Martin Freeborn whose wife Doreen
recently passed away after a long and
valiant fight against cancer. I knew
Doreen personally, as did my wife as we
all attended many functions together. We
both attended Doreen’s funeral on 8
August, as indeed did many other
mourners, which confirms the esteem in
which she was held. Doreen had a long
battle against cancer; however, it was
also a battle for Martin. I can only
imagine the anguish one must have to go
through to watch a loved one suffer so
much!
Rest in Peace Doreen and my sincere condolences to Martin, Ken and
their families…
Brian Rice
Chairman
Dial-a-Cab |
